1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a straddle-type vehicle such as a four-wheeled vehicle and, particularly to a storage portion that is provided in a front fender and that is configured to allow desired articles to be placed therein for storage.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typically, a straddle-type vehicle is constructed such that front wheels which are steering wheels are mounted to right and left parts of a front portion of a vehicle body frame by suspension units such as struts, and rear wheels which are driving wheels are mounted to right and left parts of a rear portion of the vehicle body frame by a suspension unit. A front fender and a rear fender cover the front wheels and the rear wheels, respectively, to inhibit splash of sand and dust or muddy water from flying in all directions.
A steering shaft is pivotally mounted to the front portion of the vehicle body frame. A handle is attached to an upper portion of the steering shaft. A seat is mounted behind the handle and over an upper portion of a substantially center section of a vehicle body. Foot boards are mounted below and slightly forward of the seat. Straddling the seat, the operator puts his or her feet on the foot boards and grips the handle. Under this condition, the operator steers the vehicle. When the operator steers the handle to the right or to the left, the right and left front wheels are turned in the same direction, thereby traveling the vehicle in a desired direction.
Since the vehicle body of the above straddle-type vehicle typically has a relatively small size, it is difficult to ensure a space for a storage portion in which articles such as a map or a water bottle are placed for storage. Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. Sho. 62-179880 discloses a straddle-type vehicle provided with a storage portion in a front fender thereof. Specifically, in the vehicle disclosed in this publication, a front fender is mounted to cover front wheels from above and from behind, and a cover member is mounted to the front fender by fastening bolts from behind so as to surround a part of an outer wall of a rear portion of the front fender to form the storage portion on the front fender. The storage portion has a storage space defined by the outer wall of the front fender and the cover member, and hence protrudes rearward from the outer wall of the front fender.
Because of the relatively small size of the vehicle body, knees of the operator are positioned in the vicinity of the outer wall of the rear portion of the front fender with the operator straddling the seat of the straddle-type vehicle. The knees of the operator may contact the storage portion protruding from the outer wall of the rear portion of the front fender. This may degrade riding comfort.
More often than not, the straddle-type vehicle is used for purposes of rough terrain travel. During the travel of the vehicle, splashes of dust or sand, muddy water, etc, from the front wheels collide against an inner wall of the front fender. In the above described vehicle having the fender provided with the bolt fastening holes to mount the cover member to the front fender, the muddy water may enter the storage portion through a clearance between the bolt holes and the bolts, and may contaminate articles in the storage portion. Further, other structures for a storage portion mounted to protrude from a fender of a straddle-type vehicle are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,533,339 and 6,719,346.